Magneto

Magneto is a villainous mutant bent on taking over the world in the name of mutantkind. He is the founder and former leader of the now-defunct Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Magneto is credited with coining the phrase "homo superior," a product of his belief that mutants were an inherent progression beyond humankind (homo sapiens) at large. He possesses the mutant power of controlling magnetism, including moving metallic objects and manipulating magnetic fields. He is frequently at odds with the X-Men, a team of mutant superheroes devoted to protecting humanity from malicious mutants. In particular, Magneto and X-Men leader Professor X share some level of intellectual respect for each other, despite their intense philosophical differences.

Biography

The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

Magneto first made himself known in late 1963, when he attacked and overtook the military base Cape Citadel using his magnetic powers. He quickly overran the base, taking control of its various armaments. The X-Men soon arrived on the scene in their first field assignment together. Magneto underestimated their powers, and was quickly defeated by the combined power of the five young mutants. Magneto fled the scene before he could be taken into custody, using magnetic manipulation to fly away. Some time afterward, Magneto formed a team of his own, known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, consisting of himself, Toad, Mastermind, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. The latter two—siblings Wanda and Pietro Maximoff—weren't especially enthusiastic about Magneto's violent approach to mutant advocacy, but felt a degree of fealty toward him after he had saved them from a hostile home environment some years ago. For the remainder of the year, the Brotherhood enacted a number of schemes, all of which were foiled by the X-Men. They invaded the country of Santo Marco; kidnapped the X-Man Angel; and failed to recruit a number of people, namely Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Blob, Thor, and Unus the Untouchable. In early 1965, another failed recruitment backfired spectacularly, as the alien known as the Stranger turned Mastermind into a block of solid matter and took Magneto and Toad back to his home planet for study. On top of that, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch left the team, effectively putting an end to the Brotherhood for the time being. The X-Men took Mastermind back to their base and maintained control of his petrified form.

Return to Earth

Magneto was miserable on the Stranger's planet, where he and Toad were kept for months with no clear method of escape under Stranger's constant presence and surveillance. Magneto plotted his escape, eyeing the many alien relics that the Stranger had collected, especially the graveyard of seemingly broken down spaceships. After several months, Stranger left the planet on one of his excursions, allowing Magneto to use his powers to access and reactivate a spaceship strong enough to return him to Earth. The incessantly loyal Toad followed his leader, but Magneto kicked him away and left him on the planet as he flew to Earth. Upon returning, Magneto quickly set about enacting his revenge against the X-Men. By a stroke of luck, the X-Men were away from their school/mansion on a dangerous mission, allowing Magneto to go in and prepare for their return. He set a number of traps and prepared a flying gondola—essentially an airtight container attached to a powerful balloon—to seal the X-Men in and send them flying into the atmosphere. The X-Men returned in staggered units: first Angel, then Cyclops and Professor X, then Beast and Marvel Girl. Iceman remained at the hospital, still comatose from injuries sustained in the previous mission. Each of them fell victim to Magneto's traps, and he got each of them into the gondola and into the sky as planned. Magneto slightly regretted not getting Iceman this way, but considered him a non-issue with the rest of his partners disposed of.

The school was unexpectedly visited by Angel's parents, whom Magneto took captive and also knocked out. He figured out that, since they had birthed a mutant, he could analyze their cells and potentially create more, even a whole army of mutants at his command. As he attempted to begin this process, he was interrupted by the returning Iceman, and the two fought. A weakened Iceman was no match for Magneto at full power, and the X-Men's nemesis quickly overwhelmed the team's youngest hero. They fought outside, where the X-Men soon safely landed the gondola using their powers and wits. Iceman's teammates joined the fray, rescuing him from a sure death at Magneto's hands. Magneto remained a formidable threat to the combined X-Men. However, as the costumed mutants fought, Xavier remained on the sidelines, expending a great deal of mental energy to send a telepathic signal to the Stranger. Incredibly, the Stranger soon arrived, sending a terrified Magneto fleeing in his magna-car.

See also

• Magneto (Earth-1610)